Re: Man Shocked Out of Coma

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Sierra

Joined: 12-Aug-2007
Posts: 25

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 08:23 pm Post topic: Man Shocked Out of Coma
An unidentified 38-year-old man is awake and alert for the first time in six years after doctors applied a series of electric shocks to his brain. The man had languished in a "minimally conscious" coma-like state, which is different than a "persistant vegetative" state, for the last six years. Doctors implanted a brain stimulator, a type of pacemaker for the brain, in the man's thalamus, the area of the brain responsible for movement and attention. The man almost immediately opened his eyes, tracking the movement of people in his hospital room. He has shown steady improvement ever since. He shows emotional responses, including crying and laughing, and is able to call his mother and father "Mommy" and "Pop". Until recently, doctors had believed that minimally conscious patients were untreatable, but this latest development has many neurologists excited.
Tags: coma , miminally-conscious-states , electric-shock , brains , stimulation , thalamus , consciousness

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addie

Joined: 11-Aug-2007
Posts: 28

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 06:07 pm Post topic: Man Shocked Out of Coma
I'm not sure if this makes me feel good or bad. It's good that the man is out of his coma and can communicate with others. But it makes me wonder how many people who are in 'minimally conscious' states are considered basically 'dead'. Families who have to make decisions about loved ones in comas will have to think about this, I guess. What a difficult decision for anyone.

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Sissy

Joined: 18-Jul-2007
Posts: 248

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 06:14 pm Post topic: Man Shocked Out of Coma
That is certainly not something that most of us want to have to consider. Sissy

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RavenCares

Joined: 25-Jul-2007
Posts: 197

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 04:02 am Post topic: Man Shocked Out of Coma
I have to agree with you, Sissy. It's not something that makes me very comfortable thinking about. I've instructed my loved ones to let me go if I'm ever in an irreversible coma. But now I'm rethinking that decision...

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